A/N: At this rate, Heero is just going to be that one meme/clip of that guy walking into a room holding boxes of pizza to find everything in utter chaos and on fire…

Also, some of the formatting for the letters is a bit different. FFnet's inability to format the way I want KILLS me.

Chapter 15

Dear Heero…

"Your Grace, Commander – there are letters for you."

Trowa moved fast to retrieve the messenger's offerings, delivering three letters to Heero and keeping one for himself. Wufei, the only one without a letter now, sighed in exasperation; Meilan really knew how to hold grudges. Heero was not looking forward to their reunion and hoped it came with less property damage than usual.

Glancing down at what had been handed to him, Heero was not surprised to see they were from Duo, Howard - and now Quatre. He suspected Quatre had wrote Trowa his own private letter, and honestly, he didn't even want to read whatever sickly-sweet nonsense went on in their correspondence. Being an unwitting third wheel to their in-person romance had been rough enough.

Opening Howard's letter first, Heero scanned the words. "…they're investigating another human trafficking ring," he announced to the room. "…Duo got caught up-?"

Heero glared down at the words. Howard had been unhelpfully vague in his description, only stating that a budding criminal organization that originated in the provincial capital had been dealing in human trafficking and stolen goods, and that "the Duchess and Master Winner have taken care of the issue." Quatre's involvement was not a surprise, but why was Duo involved again?

There were no notes from Hilde this time around, so Duo was unlikely to have been injured then. That was good; if Duo got hurt even one more time, Heero was going to have to seriously rethink the security around his husband. A dandy should be easy to protect for the kingdom's strongest military force.

Reading through the note left by Commander Broden, detailing his expansion of patrol routes given the human trafficking case, along with an increase in the number of Duchess Guards – that seemed unnecessary but Quatre was there, so Heero would leave it up to the blonde to be reasonable – there wasn't much in this letter. There also seemed to be a few water stains, but Heero couldn't fathom why. (And why was the letter riddled with incomprehensible apologies?) At the very least, the training regimen looked to have remained unaltered this time around.

Heero was glad. Every other letter he'd received had been vexing in their own way, so maybe things were finally calming down back home.

Opening up Duo's letter, Heero began to read.

Dear Heero,

I'm about to go insane.

There are guards everywhere I look. I was in the kitchen talking to the staff – they're there. I was taking a stroll through the garden – they're there. I stubbed my toe on the leg of my desk and one burst in through the window with her sword drawn! Heero, have you ever had to convince someone that an inanimate piece of furniture could not possibly commit treason?

Which reminds me, Quatre and his men have safely returned to the estate.

Heero wondered which part reminded him about Quatre.

I've also started to invite Miss Catherine to some of the tea parties I'm hosting. Have you ever seen her and Lady Fuyunari get into a debate over horses? Things got so heated that Lady Angela couldn't get a word in edgewise, it was the best tea party to date.

Oh, and I've started diversifying our kitchen recipes. Quatre and Lady Meilan had excellent suggestions so we've started incorporating their food into our menus. Lady Meilan also wanted to let me know to let you know to let Master Chang know that the flower peddler he's so fond of has a new item and she bought it for him, and also she still thinks that his gardening hobby is ridiculous.

"Chang, why is your wife using my husband as a messenger?"

"She's what?!"

You should have already heard about the human trafficking case from Howard too, right? I got a few scratches during my (crossed out: fight- abduct-) interaction with the leader of the group, but nothing big. The knights have located everyone involved, and we've even tracked down the people they abducted and sold. There was a bit of an issue with Armonia, but we're looking into it. Quatre says it's fine, and I want to believe him, but Quatre says a lot of things while smiling. (crossed out: I still can't believe he threw my list into the fireplace, who does that?)

Heero wondered when Duo felt close enough to Quatre to refer to him by his given name. Ever since Duo had been introduced as Heero's husband to the people Heero kept around himself, he'd only ever referred to them by their titles, last names, or vaguely insulting descriptions. What did Quatre do to change the Duchess's mind?

I've been working on my embroidery in the meanwhile. Your surprise gift is coming along nicely, but don't set your expectations too high, alright? I'm proud of my progress though! I think even Hilde and Howard were surprised by how much better it is; whenever they see me working on it, you should see the looks on their faces! Howard even looked a little teary-eyed, I didn't know he was such a softie!

Heero felt his heartbeat pick up a little. From the way it was worded – Duo was working on another piece of embroidery for him, right? Would it be another handkerchief? Would it still be the crest of the Yuy house?

Winter's coming on us now. I missed the Autumn equinox festival though. (Crossed out: Mandatory bedrest is so boring.) Kaori and the other maids brought me some of the local pastries; the food wasn't as sweet as what I usually get forced to eat at teatime, it was so good! They won't keep if I send them in a care package, so maybe next year, we can try them again together.

I wanted to ask – is everything going alright over there? I think I'm speaking for everyone when I say you're dearly missed. (Crossed out: Commander Broden really needs to be distracted from making even more changes to the training regimen.) The estate just isn't the same without everyone here.

Stay safe, Heero.

Waiting for your return,

Duo

"Anything we need to know?" Wufei asked, glancing up at him. Heero shook his head; most of the contents in Duo's letter felt private, and Heero didn't really feel like sharing them with anyone else. Duo had, after all, written the letter for him.

Trowa looked up from his own letter from Quatre. "Quatre says hello and that Meilan isn't any angrier than usual with you," he said to the two.

Wufei snorted.

Heero moved on to Quatre's letter to him. The blonde wouldn't write about anything of significant importance to Heero in his private letter to Trowa, as he had always been very good at separating his work from his private life – so whatever Quatre had found after returning to the Yuy province, it would be conveyed in his correspondence to Heero.

Which was why Heero stared down at the contents in shock.

The Duchess is fine.

Please permit me to use Sandrock.

Quatre R. Winner

Heero whipped up to glare at Trowa. "Quatre is requesting permission to use Sandrock," he hissed.

Trowa stilled. "…for what reason? The Duchess…?"

"He said Duo is fine," Heero dismissed. "Why would he need to use Sandrock while in the provincial capital? It can't possibly be just to defend Duo."

Now that Heero thought about it, though, there had been a rapid increase in the number of Duchess guards according to Howard's report, and Commander Broden had been revising the training regimen over and over again. It was possible that Quatre just wanted to be especially vigilant, but Heero couldn't imagine why. Quatre had only sent him a cursory report, a single line verifying that everything was fine back home but not going into further detail – likely for security reasons. Heero could only extrapolate the reasons himself and trust in the people he'd left back home to do what needed to be done.

But what was Duo doing to need so much security…?

Tiny black pearls were tied together in a multitude of rows as thick as the width of a grown man's hand, each one shining back the light with an almost unearthly luminescence; each section was bracketed with thin silver trim, deceptively fragile but carefully carved with inscriptions too small to read with a glance. The clasp at the back of the choker necklace was made of two box-clutches, each inscribed with small black diamonds placed in the shape of miniature crosses on the top. The filigree at the front was formed from silver, centered with a cushion-shaped diamond-like mineral that felt icy cold to the touch.

The necklace had been kept enclosed in a simple pinewood box dusted lightly with an unknown material that had the consistency of ash. There were no inscriptions or adornments, only the unsettling feeling that soon occupied his gut after his fingertips skimmed the surface. Letting the ornate jewelry rest in his upturned palm, he took in the heavy weight of it and the feel of a chill so cold it nearly burned.

Its beauty was only matched by its scorn for mortal flesh.

"It will be five more days until we reach the Yuy province's capital," his attendant informed him.

Solo Maxwell grinned, setting the pearl choker necklace back into its casket.

His little brother would love it.

A/N: Kudos to everyone who correctly guessed the identity of Duo's brother~ Extra kudos to anyone who manages to correctly guess his motives 😏

Also - I am so excited. We are nearing the end of Arc I! Two more Duo-centric chapters and one more Dear Heero chapter, then we're getting into Arc II! There will be REUNIONS (or FIRST MEETINGS technically)! BLOODSHED! HILDE IN DESPERATE NEED OF A RAISE FOR ALL THE SHIT SHE PUTS UP WITH! RELENA!

Anyway, please be kind and drop a review! :)